


All The Dying Suns

by Shy_Veil



Category: Black Veil Brides
Genre: Andley - Freeform, Janxx - Freeform, M/M, Soulmates, Vampire!BVB, Vampires, Werewolves, werewolf!CC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-03-19 15:05:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13706940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shy_Veil/pseuds/Shy_Veil
Summary: Ashley Purdy had never thought too hard about finding his soulmate.  So when Andy Biersack appears in his life out of nowhere, Ashley has to figure out how to let someone else in.It didn’t help that someone was hunting Andy’s every move. What will happen when they finally find him? Will Ashley be able to protect him from an enemy they know nothing about?





	1. The Road To Hell

Andy Biersack stood across the street in front of a dimly lit 7/11, smoking a cigarette and looking like he’d rather be somewhere else. She, however, stayed in the shadows, watching the human with a weary eye. He was attractive, she wasn’t blind, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why her Mistress had wanted this human in particular. Why he above all others was fit for her to own. And the child didn’t even know the honor to be bestowed upon him. Andy moved, striking her from her thoughts. She watched as he extinguished the cigarette and began walking down the street towards his apartment. She rapidly got up to follow, stalking him from a distance. Tonight, she decided, would be the night she would bring Mistress what she wanted, however naïve the human may be.

She kept her distance as she followed him, making sure that neither he nor the few staggering drunks suspected her intentions as she snaked under street lights. She’d watched him like this for a while, making sure they left no trace behind, deciding when to strike. She had found nothing. The child lived alone in a ramshackle apartment downtown, with seemingly no one to account for him except the employees at the music shop he worked at. He didn’t even appear to have any friends. She almost pitied him. Almost. He’d have everything he wanted soon enough. They were far enough away now, she realised, the few bystanders they’d passed distant enough to not be an issue. Now would be well enough.

 

* * *

 

  
Ashley stayed a short distance behind Jake, Jinxx, and CC as they walked home from the club. He was only half listening to their conversation, he was dead tired, the sun was going to rise soon.

CC slowed his pace and threw an arm around his shoulders, causing Ash to look up in surprise. “Save me, dude, I can not stand their flirting.”

Ashley looked up to where Jake and Jinxx were walking in front of them, hand in hand. “Leave em alone, CC, they’re bonded.”

CC just huffed, “Being vampire soulmates does not mean you get to annoy your friends with PDA.” He took his arm from around Ash’s shoulders, “Have some common courtesy.”

Jake just turned around and childishly stuck his tongue out at them while Jinxx ignored CC’s request and leaned into Jake further.

They all fell back into a comfortable silence, Jake leaning his head on Jinxx’s shoulder and mumbling about being tired and full. Ashley just listened to the sound of their feet hitting the pavement, and the distant drunken shouts of whoever else was out this late. They’d spent the night at one of the local clubs, alluring unsuspecting humans into being their next meal and then sending them on their merry way, convincing them that they were drunk enough to imagine it all. It had become routine by then, except this time CC had decided to tag along, usually the werewolf found the whole feeding thing a bit off putting. Ash didn’t know why this time felt different, like somehow everything was a tiny bit off. He was tense the whole night, glancing over his shoulder like he’d get caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But the feeling wasn’t foreboding, it was almost as though he was looking forward to something. He still hadn’t shaken it when the lights came on in the bar, and they’d all decided to head back to the house for the night.

A soft groan came from around the corner, in one of the darkened alleys that snaked between bars. He almost hadn’t heard it, and wouldn’t have thought anything of it had Jinxx not stopped walking immediately, turning his head towards the sound.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” CC asked, stepping behind the vampire.

“Come on,” Jinxx replied, not bothering to explain himself.

They immediately followed Jinxx into the alley, wondering what on earth had got his attention. Ashley remained in the back, still bewildered by Jinxx’s sudden concern.

“Holy shit, it’s a _kid_ ,” he heard Jake say, struggling to keep his voice down. “The fuck happened here?”

Ashley quickly pushed CC aside to get a good look at whatever they’d found. He inhaled sharply. On the ground before him was by far the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. A newborn vampire, who probably couldn’t have been older than twenty, with pale skin and jet black hair, a sharp contrast to the concrete below him. His eyes were closed, long lashes fluttered over sharp cheekbones, long limbs spread out beside him and dried blood around a bite mark on his neck.

Ashley kept staring, an intense feeling of longing began to weigh down his heart. He dropped to his knees beside the boy as the feeling evolved, like some kind of tangible connection was forming between them. It made him want to protect the newborn, to wrap him in his arms and take him somewhere safe. Jake dropping beside him brought him back to reality, and the euphoric moment passed, leaving behind the same desire to protect, but logic as well. _Who the hell was this kid? And who just left an unconscious newborn in the middle of a dark alley?_

“We need to get him somewhere safe,” he near-barked at Jake and Jinxx.

“Yeah, no shit. We’ll have to bring him back to our place. We don’t have time to get him anywhere else before the sun rises,” Jinxx, thinking rationally, explained.

“Hey, guys, can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?” CC asked from behind them. The vampires having nearly forgotten he was there.

“Someone left a goddamn newbie lying out here. He’s gonna fucking starve or be scorched if we leave him where he is,” Jinxx explained.

“What if his sire comes back?” Jake chimed in.

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Ashley finally spoke again, “If they were coming back, they wouldn’t just leave him out in the open like this.”  
Ash leaned protectively over the newborn, trying to get his brain to work properly, not quite understanding the deep twinge in his heart that almost kept him from letting the others get any closer.

“Come on, help me get him on his feet,” Jinxx commanded, pulling one of the young vampire’s arms over his shoulder, with Ashley quickly following suit on the other side. They were practically dragging him, since the newborn was a bit taller than they were.

They walked home like that, trying their hardest to pretend to be nothing more than a group of friends helping a drunk guy home. The four of them were spitting theories and commands back and forth, trying to figure out what the man’s story could possibly be. You don’t just leave a newborn vampire where you found him, newbies are simultaneously about the most dangerous and the most helpless creatures if you just leave them to figure things out on their own. Though, half the time, abandoned newborns don’t realize the need to get out the way of the sunrise, and turn to ashes long before they can do anyone any damage. Other times, they can be rampant, so desperately hungry after being turned that they grab the nearest human off the street, using newfound superhuman strength to destroy whatever attempted to stop them.

It was also just a shit thing to do. If you felt the need to make a monster out of some unsuspecting human, the least you can do is show them how to get by.

Ashley couldn’t even listen to the debate the others were having on the subject while they walked. He was too busy trying to figure out what the hell had just happened, why he felt so strong a need to help the newborn, why in those first moments, nothing else mattered in the world but the unconscious vampire before him. Or why some part of him still felt that way.

He almost stopped walking.

 _Fuck_.

They were bonded.

He didn’t know if the shock he was feeling was because of excitement or fear. He was bonded. To the newbie whose feet were currently dragging on the ground between him and Jinxx. Bonded. He might scream. He tried hard to think rationally about this, and harder still to hide the look of shock on his face from CC, Jinxx, and Jake. Excitement filled him, like he was some giddy schoolgirl. He’d found his fucking soulmate. All he wanted to do was figure out what that would mean. What the guy was like. What he was into. _What his fucking name was_. Questions filled his brain as he imagined what would happen when the guy woke up. How would he explain all this to him? He wanted to know everything about the kid, but the kid would need to know everything first.

“He can stay in Ashley’s room then,” he heard Jake say.

“If he wants to stay at all. He might figure out how this all works and set off to find his own coven,” CC replied.

God, he hoped not. He finally started to listen to what exactly the guys were saying, pushing his excitement away to deal with later. They’d come to a consensus while Ash was zoned out, they’d let the newborn stay in Ashley’s room while he recovered, since Jake and Jinxx shared a room and CC’s was the only one without blackout curtains, it’d just be easier for Ash to sleep on the couch. Some part of him hoped the newborn, _he really wished he knew his name_ , would let him stay in the room with him, but he knew that would likely only make him uncomfortable, at least until he got settled.

When they finally arrived at the old brownstone they lived at, struggling to get the kid’s long limbs up the stairs, they laid him down on Ash’s bed, and tried to determine just what to do next.

“I think they drugged him,” Jinxx stated, “I’m just trying to figure out why.”

Ashley flinched at the revelation. It made sense. There wasn’t much of another reason why the guy was out cold. He just didn’t understand why someone would drug a newborn vampire, or hell, why someone would drug a human, and then turn them. Turning a human wasn’t something that happened often, and to be honest it was a little taboo. You don’t just turn a human like it means nothing, not without the human wanting it. Something here was very wrong. He could think of a few reasons why someone would do this. All of them unsavory. He just hoped they’d done the right thing.

“What are we gonna do when he wakes up?” He asked, they needed some kind of plan here.

The others paused for a moment. “Well, we can’t just all be in here crowded around him. It’d only scare the hell out of the kid. It should just be one of us who stays here and explains everything when he wakes up.” Jinxx decided.

“I’ll do it,” he immediately volunteered. He desperately wanted to talk to his soulmate, despite not being entirely sure what he’d say.

The others looked up at him curiously, surprised by his enthusiasm. Jinxx’s gaze lingered knowingly, glancing between him and the newborn still out cold on the bed next to them, and then nodded. He took a deep breath in. “That’s fine. Besides, there’s nothing else to decide tonight, we’ll figure the rest out when the newbie can speak for himself. Let’s all just get some sleep.”

The others nodded, too tired to argue or to question further. Ashley watched as they got up and filed out of the room, and went and sat on the loveseat on the opposite wall from the bed. Jinxx stayed behind, waving off Jake’s confused glance, “I’ll be in there in a minute,” and sat down beside him as the door closed.

“You’re bonded aren’t you,” Jinxx just came right out and said it. It sounded weird hearing it from someone else. He’d hardly come to terms with it himself.

He sighed. “I think so,” he replied, his heart started beating rapidly at the mere thought of it, “how could you tell?”

“It was the way you looked at him when we found him. I’ve seen that look before.”

When Jinxx didn’t say anything more and Ash decided not to push further, he finally looked up at the older vampire beside him, whose eyes were still fixed on the unconscious man on the bed. Jinxx looked pensive, still debating what to do or say next. Ashley looked back at him too, he still looked beautiful, and with better lighting and a clearer head, he finally started to notice more about the stranger. He was wearing a faded Motley Crue t-shirt, that was promising at least, he had hoped his soulmate would have decent taste in music, his brain was already filling with questions again, wanting to ask him everything. What was his favorite band? What albums did he listen to? Would he like the music Ashley wrote himself? He regretfully had to shove aside all his curiosity about the man’s taste. The rest of the outfit was composed of ripped jeans and lace up combat boots. What was this guy like? God, he needed to fucking focus.

“I wonder what his name is,” he asked aloud.

“I don’t know. He didn’t have his wallet or phone on him,” Jinxx replied.

“Do you think he got jumped?”

“Why would some random mugger bother turning him? This doesn’t make any sense,” Jinxx sighed. “Look, someone’ll have to explain all this to him when he wakes up, after that we can start asking him questions. For now, I think all we can do is wait.”

Jinxx got up from the couch and started to head out of the room. “Would you wake us all up once he’s…” he paused for a moment, “aware? I’d like to meet him once he’s calmed down.” Jinxx looked tired, and Ash knew it was more than just because of the long night and dragging the newborn back here.

“Sure thing, man.”

“And Ashley?”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck.”

Then the door closed. And Ashley was alone with the soulmate he knew nothing about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time ever posting one of my stories so I’m kinda nervous. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr @shy-veil


	2. Revelations

Ashley got up and sat on the bed next to the stranger, careful not to disturb him too much. His hand, almost of its own accord, reached out to touch the man’s face, but he moved it back. As elated as he was to have found his soulmate, he knew things weren’t quite there yet. So Ashley stayed still, contemplating, wishing the man would wake up so they could meet each other, but mostly he just watched the newborn’s chest rise and fall.

He looked around his room. It was fairly messy, with an abundance of framed records and guitar pics he’d caught at shows. The only thing illuminating the room was two lava lamps glowing in the corners, one green and one red, and the backlight of an antique jukebox he’d bartered off some old guy at a city rummage sale. It’d been a while since he’d felt the need to clean it, but now he really wanted the newbie to think highly of him. He knew it was sickeningly domestic, but he really didn’t care. All the fuss from earlier had woken him up too much anyway, sleep wasn’t coming for a while. So he started to clear off shelves that held all the books he’d read and framed photos for the past few decades. He found it hard to look at them sometimes, most of them were from after he was stuck forever at 26, showing the numerous concerts he’d been to with CC. He had one of Jake, Jinxx, and him at a New Year’s Eve party from the year 2000. Very few showed him as a teenager, standing with friends he hadn’t seen in years. He was rarely one for nostalgia. Immortality always ruined it.

He moved on about the room, folding up laundry and clearing notebooks and sketches off his desk. He was only beginning to get tired again when the room seemed well enough. The kid was still out cold on his bed, hadn’t even moved an inch in his sleep, so he just layed down on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

He wished the newborn would wake up. He wanted to talk to him. Ask him who he was. He really regretted not knowing the guy’s name, it made coming to terms with all this more difficult. Everything had changed for him in a matter of seconds.

He thought about what Jinxx had said about the moment he and Jake had bonded, that nothing else in the world had mattered at all. Jinxx had saved Jake’s life, turned him so he wouldn’t die of his injuries. Jake passed out, so Jinxx was left to deal with the aftermath alone. Jinxx had been through this, he wanted to go and ask him for help, but he knew that the others were asleep.

It was a morbid symmetry, Jake being turned was an act of heroism, the stranger on his bed was probably a result of something sinister, or at least unfavorable.  

Ashley sighed. Speculation would get him nowhere, so he just rolled on his side and stared at the wall, hoping sleep would come for him.

 

* * *

  

The stranger was still asleep when Ashley woke up. _God, what had they drugged him with?_ It was probably well into the afternoon by now given the time they’d gotten back. The blackout curtains on his windows prevented him from telling, their nocturnal tendencies remaining evident. Sleeping on the couch had made him stiff, though not two seconds after he got up to stretch, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s unlocked.”

Jinxx walked in a moment later, and he noticed Jake walk past him to head down the stairs. Even he looked surprised that the newborn was still asleep.  He brushed it off though, and turned back to Ashley.

“Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Barely, I was worried he would wake up while I was out and try to bail or something.”

Jinxx sighed and sat down on the loveseat again. “I think CC left this morning. I don’t know when he’ll be back,” they both knew it wasn’t what they really needed to talk about, but ignoring the subject felt easier. Plus, it wasn’t like asking the same questions over and over was going to help anyway. Ashley turned on one of the lamps behind the couch, lightening up the dim room. Jinxx’s face was grave and pensive, as it usually was, and he was staring at the floor.

“I fear we’ve gotten ourselves into something we don’t understand.”

Ashley’s eyebrows drew together. “This may be nothing. Whoever turned him may have been drunk. Or… not thinking straight.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself that more than anything. 

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

Jinxx looked like he was about to say more, but the vampire on the bed coughed. They both immediately stood up, fearing that the kid was awake already. Luckily he wasn’t, but his breathing became uneven, and he shifted slightly on the bed.

Jinxx took a deep breath. “You should be alone when he wakes up. I don’t want to scare him,” he repeated himself. He smiled slightly at Ashley, then walked out of the room, whatever unfinished thought he considered saying abandoned. 

A few minutes passed. The suspense was killing him. This stranger was his future, he knew that much. He just didn’t know what that would mean. He’d do anything for him. He would go anywhere. All for a man he hadn’t really met. It terrified him. 

The newborn shifted again.

Ashley immediately stood, keeping his distance so the man wouldn’t feel crowded, but he regretfully knew he had to keep himself between the stranger and the door. 

The newborn’s eyes opened.

Piercing blue eyes stared at him in terror as the newborn immediately tried to push himself backwards on the bed, trying to get as far away from Ashley as possible.  The weight in Ashley’s heart grew heavier, the bond between them continued strengthening, he tried to ignore it.

“Hey, hey, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Ashley pleaded, putting his hands in the air, “I promise.” 

The kid stopped moving, but his eyes kept shifting between Ash and the door behind him. 

“Who are you?” The newborn asked, his voice trembling but trying to sound threatening. Ash resisted the urge to move closer and comfort him.

“My name’s Ashley. We found you out cold in an alleyway last night, I swear.”

“I-I remember...” His breathing was heavy and his eyes continued shifting. Ashley barely moved a muscle, fearing that anything he did might be seen as aggressive. The man kept shaking. “My head hurts.” It sounded like an accusation.

“There’s a lot I need to explain, if you’ll let me,” Ashley slowly lowered his arms, stepping ever so slightly closer to him. The newborn didn’t flinch, so he sat down at the foot of the bed, still a good few feet from the cagey stranger. He prayed that the newborn could feel the bond too, that at least it would help him trust Ashley a little more. “What’s your name?”

The newborn looked him in the eye again. Searching him, slowly starting to try and control his breathing. Maybe he did feel it. Or maybe the fear shown in Ashley’s eyes as well. Ashley couldn’t imagine what the newborn must be thinking.

“Andy.” 

Ashley smiled slightly, “That’s a nice name. So, Andy… There’s a lot I need to tell you.” 

“You’ve said that,” Andy replied, starting to unfurl himself from the defensive stance he’d taken. Andy wasn’t quite calm yet, but Ashley could tell he at least knew he wasn’t in _immediate_ danger.

Ashley didn’t know where to begin but the beginning.  “We found you in an alleyway last night. You were out cold. You didn’t have your wallet or phone on you so we took you back here.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” 

“Me and my…roommates,” Ashley temporarily avoided the question. “What do you think happened to you?”

Andy still seemed slightly skittish, but the story seemed believable enough. If they were the ones that kidnapped him, they would’ve tied him up or something, and this guy certainly wouldn’t have told him his name. 

He finally put his feet on the floor, sitting on the edge of the bed a ways away from Ashley. “I was walking home…” the memory was blurred, details of last night obscuring into one another, he tried his best to remember. “I-I thought this girl was following me or something, every time I turned around she would duck behind a corner. I kept trying to get a glimpse of her face, but, but I couldn’t.” He looked back up at Ashley, who was staring at him intensely. “I was trying to just get back to my place, stay out of her way, but then, then out of nowhere, there was this pain in my neck and I was being dragged backwards. I think that’s where I blacked out. She must’ve drugged me. I don’t remember anything after that.” 

Ashley looked away. “This doesn’t make sense,” he muttered. 

Andy leaned over to put his head in his hands. He let out a long breath. “I, um, I should get going.” Ashley inhaled sharply, Andy’s eyes shot up to meet his, fearing that his judgement was wrong and Ashley intended to keep him here. 

Ashley met his gaze, “There’s... fuck, there’s one more thing you should know.”

“And what is that?” His voice was deep and he was glaring at him with an intensity that made even Ashley want to back away.

_How on earth was he supposed to say this? Rip it off like a bandage? ‘Surprise! You’re undead!’_

_Then again, there weren’t many other options._  

“We’re vampires.”

Andy’s eyebrows drew together. His eyes shifted from being defensive to confused, searching Ashley’s face to see if he was joking or not. Andy looked away, staring instead at the softly glowing jukebox. The green light reflected off his pale skin, blue eyes glistening dimly, he looked absolutely gorgeous, but there wasn’t time to focus on that. 

“I know it sounds ridiculous—“

“I believe you.” Andy cut him off.

It was Ashley’s turn to be surprised. Andy looked over at him from the corner of his eye, his jaw set.

Ashley opened his mouth to speak but Andy beat him to it.

“I feel… thirsty.”

 _Of fucking course_ . _Man_ , _he was stupid. He’s a newborn, he’s probably starving._ He got up and walked over to the mini fridge in the corner of his room. Old blood was gross, it was separated and tasted like shit, but it worked, so he always kept some around, often in plastic bottles because it was easier than stolen blood bags. Besides, he still remembered how thirsty he was when he was turned, so he doubted Andy would be picky.

He walked back over to Andy, the blood was only about two days old, but it was already separating. He shook the bottle, hoping that would help a little. He held it out for the other vampire, who took it hesitantly, his natural reaction was to flinch slightly at the idea of drinking it.  Ashley almost found the face he made funny, “You’ll get used to it.”

Andy took the bottle from him and drank it. Part of him cringed at the taste, but part of him, he guessed the vampiric part, wanted it. It tasted _good._ Andy’s mind was still moving slowly from the drugs in his system. The world around him seemed hazy. He knew that he should be reacting to all this. He should be terrified, frustrated, confused, but he wasn’t. He felt calm. Comforted, but his brain was moving too slowly to understand why. Maybe his defenses were down as well, he _trusted_ Ashley. He didn’t know why. There was no way he could know for certain that Ashley was telling the truth. He may be lying. He could have been the one who turned him. He could be some kind of ally to the woman who jumped him. He knew he couldn’t be certain. 

But he trusted Ashley anyway. 

He finished off the bottle and looked back at the man next to him. “I’d wager that you’ve still got more to say.” There were questions he wanted to ask, but his brain felt heavy. It was probably easier to just let Ashley explain all this to him.

“I don’t know where to begin.”

Looks like he’d have to ask questions anyway. “Roommates?” 

“Yeah, um, they’re downstairs. There’s four of us living here. Their names are Jake, Jinxx, and CC.” 

“And you’re all vampires?”

“CC’s a werewolf.” _Werewolves. Sure, why not,_ Andy thought to himself. He was certain he would have to sort through all this new information later once the fog in his thoughts cleared, but he was kinda glad that for now his only strategy was ‘blindly accept all information given’.

“Okay then.” Andy sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to alleviate the pressure. Ashley just raised an eyebrow, probably expecting a different response.

His head hurt like hell. The blood had helped, but he was sluggish. He wanted to be angry. To be confused. He wanted to feel something. Anything. But he couldn’t. His entire life was changing and he couldn’t even react to it in real time. His heart sped up. He felt trapped. The floor swayed, and his eyelids felt heavy. He tried to stand, he had no clear intention, but he needed to move, to go somewhere, to get out of this place. At least until his head cleared and he could think about this properly.

He started stumbling towards the door, still not knowing where he was or where he’d go. Ashley got up behind him.

“Hey man, don’t hurt yourself.” Andy barely heard him, his ears were ringing. The ground lurched beneath him and he collapsed, Ashley only stepping in and catching him just in time.

He came back to his senses while Ashley was helping him back onto the bed, not entirely certain how many seconds had passed.  

“Hey, Andy, you with me?” Ashley asked.

“I’m fine.” 

“Yeah, you seem fine.” Ashley said, rolling his eyes.

“I just- I just need a minute.” He leaned back, closing his eyes and trying to get his headache to ease. He didn’t know what had brought that on. His head had been foggy since he woke up. He guessed it was the panic, it must’ve been. He didn’t want to fall back asleep, not with Ashley there, not with the roommates he hadn’t even seen yet around. He fought with all his might, but his eyes wouldn’t open, and darkness swallowed him.

 

* * *

 

Ashley didn’t know what to do. The guy had seemed mostly fine since he woke up, but then out of nowhere he’d stopped replying when Ashley said anything, he wondered if the guy had even heard him. _What the hell had they drugged him with that was strong enough to take down a newborn vampire? There was something bigger going on here. Someone had drugged Andy with the express purpose of turning him into a vampire and then keeping him subdued even then._

The door to his room opened and Jinxx and Jake walked in.  “We heard him fall,” Jake stated. 

“How is he?” Jinxx asked.

“I don’t know. He woke up for a while, he seemed… out of it. But otherwise fine. He collapsed when he tried to stand up again.”

“The hell did they give him?” Jake asked.

“His name’s Andy,” Ashley said, ignoring Jake’s question, none of them knew the answer anyway, “He told me that he was walking home last night and thought there was a woman following him, when he turned to face her he got jumped.” Jinxx’s eyebrows drew together but he said nothing. 

“And what have you managed to tell him?” Jake asked. 

“The truth, that we’re vampires and we all live together, that CC’s a werewolf, and that we weren’t the ones who turned him.” 

“And what of the two of you?” Jinxx asked.

“Not yet. There wasn’t time, he wasn’t awake that long.” Jinxx moved from where he was stood over the bed and sat on the couch, Jake joined him. Ashley sat back down on the mattress with his head in his hands. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain that to him anyway.”

“Explain what exactly?” Jake asked. Ashley looked up at him, he’d just assumed Jinxx had told him already, the two of them were practically inseparable.  When Ashley said nothing, Jinxx replied, “The two of them have intertwined.” It was a really old fashioned word for it, but it was nice to hear Jinxx say it so casually, it calmed him somehow.  Jake didn’t reply, he just looked back and forth between Ashley and Andy.

“Congratulations.” He knew Jake would’ve been more excited if this was under better circumstances, he was the one who always told Ashley he’d find his soulmate afterall. They’d celebrate once things were settled. Once Andy could celebrate with them.

They sat in silence for a while, Andy’s labored breathing the only sound.  Jake leaned against Jinxx, the way he always did when he needed comfort, Jinxx wrapped an arm around him and played with his hair quietly, no one’s mind was really there. Their world had gone from zero to a hundred and back again and now they had to deal with the whiplash.

“Where did CC go?” Ashley asked mostly just to break the silence. 

“He didn’t say.” Jinxx replied curtly. The silence resumed, it wasn’t hostile or uncomfortable, they’d known each other too long for that. They just needed to be left with their thoughts for a minute.

Andy abruptly started coughing and sat up in bed, startling all of them out of their seats. 

When he finally gained his composure he looked up and flinched at the sight of Jake and Jinxx, instinctively backing away before starting to calm down again.

“Sorry,” he breathed out, Ashley didn’t know what the other man was apologizing for, but kept quiet anyway.

It was Jinxx who spoke first. “Sorry to startle you. I’m Jinxx and this is my husband Jake.” He held out his hand and Andy looked up and shook it. “I’m Andy. It’s… nice to meet you.” Ashley couldn’t tell if he was being honest or not. The whole thing seemed too casual.  “The pleasure is mine,” Jinxx replied and flashed a fanged grin. Andy undoubtedly noticed it, but his expression didn’t change.

Andy stood up, Ashley moved closer in case he fell again, but Andy waved him off. “I’m fine.” He leaned against the jukebox, slowly getting his bearings.

“So how old are you exactly?” Jake asked, wanting to move past small talk and just figure out what exactly was going on with this kid.

“I’m nineteen.” Jake’s eyes widened. Even Ashley was a bit surprised, he was so young. And to already have his human life taken from him, he’d be melancholy if he wasn’t a bit selfishly glad the guy had been turned. It was a bitter thought, but he knew it was true. The air in the room was still. No one knew what to say.

Andy rubbed at his temples, wincing slightly. Jinxx noticed and sat back down again, wanting the situation to ease, the rest of them followed. Andy returned to his place at the head of the bed, sitting with his back to the headboard.

“Pardon my candidness, but what exactly do you remember of last night?” Jinxx asked.

Andy repeated the story he’d told Ashley, with a bit more detail this time. He’d noticed the woman who followed him standing across the street when he’d gone into a gas station to get some cigarettes. He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

Jake pressed for more information, but he had none to give. By all means he was an ordinary kid, and why some coven had decided to turn him and then immediately leave him for dead was just as much a mystery to him as it was to the other vampires. 

Andy started asking them questions then. Asking about vampirism, what lore was true or not, how they fed. Ashley was only sometimes listening, he heard Jinxx explain their methods, how they couldn’t go out in the sun without being burned severely, that your fangs grew as you aged and that was why his fangs were so much longer than Andy’s. They were immortal, but they needed human blood to survive. Ashley wasn’t exactly concerned with hearing things he already knew and he hated seeing the look on Andy’s face as he discovered the monster he’d become. He stared at the floor, thinking about what the younger man had said, the woman who’d followed him knew exactly who she was after, and had watched him long before she had decided to finally turn him. She must’ve had something to gain and it was because of Andy in particular. His stomach turned. His mate may very well still be in danger. The thought pained him.

Andy groaned and put his fingers to his temples once more, and Ashley finally looked up at him. He seemed much more at ease than he had been earlier, his muscles had lost the rigid defensiveness they had kept since he saw Jake and Jinxx. But his face showed that he was in pain. He had to once again resist the urge to comfort him. They’d barely met each other, but Ashley knew they had eternity to learn more about one another.  It was the only thought that kept him where he stood. “You okay?” Jake asked, his voice matching the familiarity Andy had begun to show.

“Yeah, yeah it’s just the, um, the sedative, or whatever. I, uh, I think I’ll sleep it off but it hurts like hell right now.” His voice sounded purposefully deep and low, trying not to convey what he was really feeling. “I think I just need some time alone to process all this.”

“Of course.” Jinxx, ever so understanding, obliged and got up and walked out of the room, nodding at Ashley as he passed. Jake followed suit, “Just tell us if you need anything.”

“This is your room right?” Andy asked before Ashley could turn and follow them. His voice was soft again, more vulnerable.

“Yeah, but I can clear out for a while. It’s really no problem.” He wanted to offer to stay, but he didn’t, the young man needed time like he said. The last thing he wanted was for Andy to feel scared or uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was so weak it almost broke Ashley’s resolve. Everything he had learned today must’ve finally been getting to him, and it was something that he had to work through alone, as horrible as it made Ashley feel to leave him.

“Don’t be. Really.” He knew his words couldn’t carry all the things he wanted to say. He hoped Andy understood though, that their bond could connect them the way he’d been told it could. People said that the bond gave them empathy for one another, that one felt what the other was feeling. Maybe that was why Ashley was so scared, the type of scared you get when you know things will never go back to the way they were. He wanted to give Andy all his strength, hoping it worked both ways, that Andy could feel it too even if he didn’t understand it yet. 

“And Ashley,” Andy said once he began to turn away.

“Yeah?” 

“Thank you.”

“It’s alright.” he said as he walked out of the room. He glanced behind him as the door closed, Andy was sat on the bed, knees tucked under his chin, trying to make himself as small as possible. Ashley’s heart hurt.


	3. Lost Causes

Ashley, Jake, and Jinxx sat in the living room of the brownstone, trying to avoid thinking too hard about the future. It was calm again, like the storm had passed. The uncertainty was gone, they at least knew who Andy was now. None of them knew what to make of his situation though. Even Jinxx, with his vast knowledge of the supernatural, of what else was out there aside from vampires, didn’t know why something like this would happen.

“What should we do now exactly?” Jake asked from his usual spot next to Jinxx.

“I’m going to ask the nearby covens what they know of Andy or the woman who followed him,” Jinxx replied.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Ashley replied.

“Why not?”

“Cause it may have been one of them who did this! They might be looking for him!” He was frustrated. And he couldn’t tell if it was him who was feeling it or Andy back up in his room.

Jinxx studied him for a minute and sighed. “You’re right, but we have no other means of discovering the truth.”

“At this point all we can do is wait,” Jake said.

Ashley hated feeling like a sitting duck, but Jake was right. If they asked other covens about what had happened to Andy, they were putting him in danger. That was the last thing any of them wanted.

“How do I even begin to explain this to him?” Ashley moved on to the other issue that’d been weighing on his mind. He needed to tell Andy they were bonded, but the man had no idea what that meant. Some part of Ashley was even afraid that Andy wouldn’t want him. That he would skip town the moment he discovered he was connected to a jackass like Ashley.

“You tell him the truth,” Jake replied, “he might be apprehensive, but he’ll at least try to understand.”

“How did you feel?” Ashley asked quietly, wanting some basis of what to prepare himself for. He was so scared Andy would hate him, no matter how ungrounded that fear may be, and he just wanted someone to tell him not to worry.

Jake paused for a moment. “I was scared. I didn’t know Jinxx very well then. And once all of this was explained to me, I knew I could feel it, I could feel the bond between us and I knew I couldn’t leave him. I didn’t want to leave him, but at the same time I didn’t know what he was like.” Jinxx remained silent, his eyes focused on nothing in particular, his lips curled upwards slightly. His mind was seventy years in the past, remembering the moment with fondness.

Their situations were so similar. But Jake at least knew it was Jinxx who saved him from being another lost soldier, he had that to base his opinion of him off of. Andy didn’t. Ashley meant nothing to him at all.

Ashley tried to convince himself he was being ridiculous. That they were bonded for a reason and Andy could never hate him for that.

But then, what did he know about Andy either?

Just when Jinxx and Jake were beginning to feel sentimental, they heard the front door start to unlatch. CC walked in a second later. The sunlight shining through the brief crack in the door caused them all to flinch, but it didn’t hit them directly enough to cause any burns.

CC walked into the living room and stared at them a moment, eyes adjusting to the dim light. “Have you guys seen a ghost or something?” He sounded tired, it slipped their minds sometimes that he wasn’t nocturnal and it was normal to be a bit out of it by 6 in the afternoon, especially after partying all night like they had.

“The newborn woke up,” Jinxx explained, “his name is Andy.”

“Oh. Is he...nice?” Ashley was about 90% sure at this point that the scatterbrained CC had forgotten about the man entirely.

“We’re bonded.” Ashley stated. That woke CC up a lot. His eyes widened, but then he just sighed. “Great now there’s two couples to annoy the shit out of me.” He sounded mildly annoyed, but he was smiling widely. He scoffed when no one laughed. “Congratulations, man. Seriously.”

He may not have been a vampire himself, but he knew how important bonding was to them, it was like a strange built-in engagement.

“Do I get to meet him?”

“He requested to be left alone for the time being.” Jinxx replied. CC’s face fell. “I take it you haven’t told him yet then, have you?”

“No. I didn’t want to overwhelm him.” He hoped CC understood, he didn’t need any more complications right now.

“I get that. Look, I’m gonna go up to my room. Would you mind telling me if he starts being social again? I want to ask if I can be Best Man at your wedding.”

Ashley just rolled his eyes and smirked. “Fuck off, would you.” He could always count on CC to joke about any situation. Even when no one else could.

CC ran up stairs while the rest of them remained still on the couch. So much had happened, but now, sat around on the old couches in their living room, they could almost pretend things were back to the way they were. The silence felt strange after all the turmoil that’d been going on. He sighed. There wasn’t much he could do about anything.

“All we can do is wait, I suppose,” Jinxx broke the silence. It hung in the air for a moment. Ashley didn’t want to sit around for something else to happen. Especially something that may put Andy in danger. But Jinxx was right. They had no choice.

* * *

 

Andy sat alone in Ashley’s room. He had moved over to the couch, it felt too weird to be by himself in a stranger's bed. He had his legs pulled up to his chest with his arms around them, leaning his chin on his knee. He was cold, but he didn’t want to grab one of the folded up blankets underneath the bed, that might have been infringing on his welcome. He didn’t really know whether or not they wanted him here. Maybe they expected him to leave the moment it was dark outside. They were probably only being nice because they found him and he had nowhere else to go at the moment.

Whoever had jumped him had stolen his wallet and phone, not that he had anyone to call anyway. There was no one who needed him to tell them he was alright. He rarely ever allowed himself to feel lonely, but now, facing the prospect of going back to his apartment and trying to figure how to be a fucking vampire on his own, he allowed himself a tiny bit of self pity.

They’d explained it all to him. How they would lure drunk people into darkened corners of bars and bite them, then leave them no worse for wear, just disoriented and with a wound they’d have no way to explain in the morning. He guessed that was better than what he’d seen in movies. He really didn’t want to hurt anyone.

His brain kept coming back to that. He was a fucking vampire now, after spending his whole life not knowing they actually existed. He was calmer than he’d been when he first woke up. He’d made peace with it, at least a little. Working the graveyard shift at a decrepit music store made him feel nocturnal most of the time anyway. He scoffed at the thought, it was kinda morbid to joke about. Then again, he thought, he may as well. This was his life now after all.

He should really leave. He didn’t really know how long they were gonna let him stay, but since they were a group of buff vampires, it was probably best to not risk overstaying. Andy shifted slightly on the couch, staring at Ashley’s record collection on the shelf above him. He believed them when they said they weren’t the ones that turned him. They actually did seem kind. He noticed the three of them trying not to question him too much, keeping their distance so he wasn’t crowded. Jinxx had made such a genuine effort to make sure he understood everything that it was hard to believe that him or his husband had bad intentions.

Then there was Ashley. He’d been trying not to think too hard about him. It was something Andy couldn’t explain. How he could feel Ashley. Sense him somehow. Like some kind of intense empathy. That was why he had trusted Ashley so much, he realised, it was like he could feel the sincerity inside him. He didn’t understand it. It was almost physical, like he could feel Ashley’s presence downstairs. He had to be losing it. This was some intense crush that was making him try to force a connection that wasn’t there. It was probably just because Ashley saved him and now he felt indebted or something. That had to be it.

Though he wasn’t going to lie and say he wasn’t hopeful. From the moment his head was clear enough to actually look at him, he’d thought Ashley was one of the hottest people he’d ever seen. He’d been trying not to stare at him during the entire conversation with Jinxx and Jake, though he doubted Ashley would have noticed if he had. His eyes had been fixed on the floor for most of it, only looking up when they mentioned something that pertained to him. He wasn’t surprised though, Ashley could have anyone he wanted, there’s no way he’d choose Andy. Ashley was built like a model, with muscles that threaded under his tight t-shirt and a jawline he could cut his finger on. Not to mention how gentle his brown eyes were, how his voice made Andy feel so comfortable and at home. He tried not to fantasize too much. Andy was the total opposite, his limbs were too long and he was clumsy and awkward because of it. His hair was unruly and he was all sharp edges compared to Ashley’s soft lines.

Despite all this, Andy hoped Ashley liked him anyway. His efforts to convince himself that he could ignore his feelings were futile. Andy just hoped they’d go away once Ashley decided to make him go home.

Andy looked back around the room, all he really knew about Ashley was what he could glean from his possessions. They had similar taste in music, he could tell. The whole room was covered in framed records from Guns N Roses and Kiss, along with a jukebox in a corner that had a bunch of 80s glam rock music in it. The records on his shelves varied quite a bit, ranging from Led Zeppelin to some old country music that Andy tried to reserve judgments about.

Maybe he and Ashley could at least be friends, they seemed to be into pretty similar things. He was hopeless, Andy knew that. But some part of him wanted to stay around Ashley, to get to know him. It was on a different level than some crush he could move on from and forget about and he had no idea what to do about it. He didn’t want to face the inevitable rejection and go back to his shitty life. He wished he could stay in limbo like this forever. Never having to face what was coming. I’m 

* * *

 “You’ve disappointed me, Mara,” her Mistress said in a voice that was far too playful for what Mara knew was coming. She looked up at Her throne from where she was kneeling.

“Mistress, it was a simple mistake, one that can surely be rectified,” she pleaded.

Lady Lorelei placed Her glass of champagne down on one of the trays a human subjugate was holding beside Her. She stood from the throne, Her large leathery red wings unfolding. Mara was unworthy to look at Her beauty. Her lace and silk robe flowing out as She moved with a gracefulness no human or vampire could match. She circled Mara, placing a hand on her shoulder and caressing it along her back.

“You call losing the one I have chosen as my newest slave to be a simple mistake,” She purred in Mara’s ear. Her voice was calm, but she could still hear the veiled anger. Mara shivered.

Her mistress walked back towards Her throne, “Inquisitor!” She called. Moments later, a grotesque humanoid creature stepped out of the shadows and bared his teeth at Mara on the ground. All of them were sharpened and his near-white skin pulled taut around his jagged skull.

“Yes, my Lady?” He asked, bowing slightly.

“You’ll be the one to find this newborn and bring him back to me.” Her eyes shifted from Mara to the Inquisitor, “By whatever means necessary.”

The Inquisitor smiled, if you could call it that. “Of course, my Lady.”  
  
“And what of me, Mistress?” Mara feared the worst. If She had given the Inquisitor the task that Mara had failed, she was of no use to Her. And a succubus was rare to give second chances.

“I’m feeling merciful, so you shall assist the Inquisitor in his endeavor,” Mara’s blood ran cold. “Just know that another oversight will result in your undoing.”

Mara smiled, she had one more opportunity to please her Mistress, a rarity indeed. She would do well on her promises. There would be no oversights. The newborn would be found and brought to his knees, no matter what tried to stop her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is kinda short.


	4. Little By Little

Andy knew it was Ashley at the door before he even knocked.

Andy sighed and braced himself for Ashley to tell him that he needed to leave. He knew he’s stayed here long enough, he was just grateful they had given him time to mull things over.

“You can come in.” He said softly, but it still sounded deafening in the silent room.

Ashley entered a second later. He looked nervous, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Andy sat still on the couch, in the same position he’d been in for hours.

“I’ll, um, I can stay on the couch if you still need—“

“I should… my apartment.” He sounded like an idiot and was desperately trying not to look Ashley in the eye. He wouldn’t make Ashley have to say it, have to tell him to get out of their way. They’d been too kind to him for that.

“Right.” He sounded disappointed, Andy looked up at Ashley then, ignoring the lurch of longing in his stomach, he looked like he was in between hopeful and unhappy. Andy couldn’t figure out why. He pushed aside any hope that Ashley would let him stay here and looked back down again.

It was well past sunset now. He’d been dreading the moment when it was safe for him to go outside, knowing that he had nowhere to go except his studio apartment that was really the only thing he could afford. He convinced himself that was why he wanted to stay here so badly, he hated the only place he had to go.

“You can stay here if you want,” Ashley blurted out. Andy’s eyes shot back up to Ashley, searching his face to see if he was being honest.

“I mean… vampires like to stick together. And it only has to be until you get back on your feet. Have everything figured out…” he trailed off.

Andy smiled, deciding not to question the nice gesture. “Yeah, um, I’d like that. Thanks.”

Ashley smiled back at him. Andy’s heart skipped a beat. _God, he was attractive_. It made Andy wonder if trying to be friends with the guy was even a good idea. He’d already given up hope on ever being more than that, but maybe…

Andy shook the thought away. Just because he felt so attached to Ashley didn’t mean Ashley felt the same way. In all likelihood, he was just a charity project for Ashley. He was being nice to someone he felt responsible for. It was Andy that needed to keep his heart in line.

* * *

Ashley’s heart was beating like crazy. For some reason he was nervous to talk to his goddamn soulmate. He’d never been scared to talk to anyone before. And now, with someone who shared an actual unbreakable connection with him, he was terrified to ask him to stay here.

Those few moments before Andy said yes were the most tense of his life. He didn’t know what he would do if Andy had denied his offer. He couldn’t just leave him. Let him walk out of Ashley’s life as quickly as he’d appeared in it. He didn’t know how he wanted to go about this. Andy didn’t even know they were bonded, he didn’t even know what that meant. He doesn’t have any idea how badly Ashley needs him.

He offered to help Andy move his stuff from his apartment, insisted that it was fine for Andy to stay in his room. The couch downstairs was uncomfortable, but as long as he knew Andy was alright, he didn’t care.

That was something he wasn’t used to. He’d been hearing about what it was like to be bonded since he was turned, people telling him how great it felt or how happy he’d be once it happened. None of that compared to what it actually felt like. It was like he had been missing a piece of himself his entire life, but he didn’t know. He didn’t know he was incomplete until he’d been completed. It was like all of his uncertainty, every fear, every prejudice, every hardship he’d ever faced, didn’t matter anymore. It was all replaced with Andy. And he would do anything to make sure Andy never faced those things himself.

Andy asked where exactly the brownstone was in the city, and Ashley had felt a bit guilty for not telling Andy where he was earlier, the thought just hadn’t occurred to him, but Andy said it didn’t matter. It turned out that his apartment wasn’t that far away and they could probably walk there if they wanted. He’d grabbed his coat and headed out with him, leading Andy through the downstairs and out onto the street.

* * *

 

 The streetlights casted a hazy blue glow over the pavement in front of them as they walked down the steps of the house side by side, closer than most people who had just met usually would have. Ashley took this as a small sign that Andy could feel the bond too, but that may have just been wishful thinking. Andy probably did feel it, but he couldn’t understand his feelings at all, he didn’t know enough to act on it surely. He didn’t even know how Ashley felt about him. He’d fix that soon enough.

Ashley resisted the urge to hold Andy’s hand as they began making their way down the street. Andy was staring at the ground, face unreadable. He decided to start asking the questions he’d been thinking of all day, hoping Andy was in the mood to answer.

“So what’s your name exactly, stranger?” He’d realised in his free time earlier that despite feeling like he’d known Andy forever, they really didn’t know the first thing about each other.

Andy looked over at him and smiled slightly, the cool air had made his cheeks turn rosy. “Andrew Biersack. What about you?”

“Ashley Purdy.”

Andy nodded and looked back ahead.

“So… what do you do for a living? Are you a student?” Ashley wanted to cover the basics first, try and get past the awkwardness that came with first meeting someone.

Andy’s face fell slightly and Ashley was afraid he’d brought up a sensitive topic until Andy spoke again. “Actually, I work at a local music store. I, uh, I couldn’t afford college.” He looked embarrassed, and Ashley felt bad for upsetting him. It felt like the whole conversation was balanced on a point and one wrong movement could ruin everything. He hated the tension that hung in the air.

The silence lasted a second longer than it should have. Ashley cursed himself for that.

He decided to drop the subject altogether. “So what kind of music do you listen to then?” Andy honestly could have said K-Pop and Ashley would have swooned.

“I don’t know. Classic rock, mostly. Guns ‘n’ Roses. Motley Crue. That kind of thing.” His eyes brightened a bit. Ashley already knew by his t-shirt and he was certain Andy saw all those old records in his room, but it was nice to talk about something they had in common.

They kept talking about it as they made their way down the street, crunching the gravel sideroads underfoot. They talked about music and favorite albums and how Ashley once broke his nose in a mosh pit and Andy told how he nearly got suspended for wearing a Dropkick Murphys t-shirt. The tension subsided a little, replaced by comfortable ease. He tried to remind himself that he didn’t need to be worried. That fate or God or science or whatever decided who were meant to be soulmates had done this for a reason and everything would turn out okay in the end. Didn’t help Ashley still wanting to impress him though.

“I don’t really get to go to many live shows, I can never get time off work or even afford them,” Andy complained.

“I’ll have to take you to one someday.”

Andy looked over at him and laughed a little. Ashley could listen to that laugh forever. He was falling hard and he knew it. He didn’t even mind.

“Hell yeah. I take it you must go to shows all the time,” Andy asked.

“Whenever they’re around.”

“So… how old are you exactly?”

Ashley really hadn’t been expecting that question and some part of him didn’t really want to tell him. When Jinxx said he was 250 it made him sound mysterious, Ashley’s age just made him sound like a grandpa reminiscing on the golden age of rock music.

“Fifty-eight.” Andy was going to find out eventually anyway, may as well rip the bandage off.  
Andy was silent for a moment. Ashley’s heart started speeding up again and he watched his feet hit the pavement below them. He still _looked_ twenty-six, but Andy was nineteen and had only talked to three vampires in his life, two of which were well over a hundred. He probably wasn’t expecting Ashley to only be a few years older than his dad.

“Makes sense why you love 80s rock music then.” Ashley let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding.

“Yeah, old timer I guess,” he laughed slightly, feeling like he’d gotten a blank in Russian Roulette.

As cheesy as it was, Ashley just wanted Andy to think he was cool. He wanted to win Andy over, make him as happy to be bonded to Ashley as he was to be bonded to him. Though he knew he couldn’t just rush into things, Andy didn’t know a lot. He didn’t know what was happening between them. He knew he had to give Andy time to understand.

“So you play music as well, huh?” Andy asked.

“What?” He understood the question, it just came out of left field. He hadn’t mentioned that to Andy yet.

“I saw the guitar cases in your room.” Andy’s breath was visible in the January air, the orange street lights made it look like he was breathing fire. Ashley smirked.

“Yeah, I’ve had plenty of time to take up a hobby, I guess.”

“I’d love to hear you play sometime.” Andy’s voice was low and soft. His voice wavered slightly, thinly veiled nervousness showing through. Ashley didn’t understand why until he realized Andy was asking Ashley to play for _him. Him, personally._ It was kinda cute. It made him feel special.

“Of course.” Ashley smiled at him, hoping Andy knew how genuine he was being. There was nothing he wanted more than to do anything Andy asked of him. He just hoped Andy liked what he played.

They came up to a corner with a set of run-down apartments running in rows down the street. Andy just pointed towards one of them and Ashley followed him towards his house. He watched as Andy pulled a spare key out from behind a broken light fixture, fumbling with the lock for a minute before finally getting the door open.

The apartment was simple and fairly cluttered. Andy had clearly tried to make the place look nice, with old concert venue posters and a few framed photos around the place, but the cracks in the ceiling and the broken radiator in the corner showed that it was less than ideal. He had a pile of cds stacked up next to a old stereo system and a desk that was covered in notebooks. Ashley started to walk over to look at them, but Andy beat him to it, closing them and stuffing them in a duffel bag he’d grabbed from the closet.

Ashley stepped back near the doorway and offered to help, despite not knowing what all Andy wanted to bring to their place. Andy just shrugged him off, “I got it.”

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Ashley just stood back and watched as Andy grabbed clothes out of drawers and took CDs and a few books down from shelves. His whole life fit in that duffel bag with room to spare.

He was gonna spoil the hell out of this guy the moment he had the chance.

“How long have you lived here?” He asked, his voice sounding strange in the quiet. Andy turned back around at him, then looked at the ground. “Two years,” he said flatly.

“Two years?” He hadn’t meant for it to come out like he was judging him, he was just shocked that Andy had been on his own since he was seventeen.

“My parents kicked me out,” Andy mumbled, he was trying not to show emotion, but Ashley could tell that he was embarrassed and hurt. Andy had stopped what he was doing, crouched on the floor to pick up something, his eyes averted to the ground, holding on to the bed for support. Ashley’s mouth fell open, he hated that anyone had ever made Andy feel unwanted.

“I’m sorry.” Ashley wanted to say more. He wanted to tell Andy that he would make certain that he never had to be alone again. Would never need to get by on nothing. Wouldn’t have to worry about his next pay check or wonder what exactly he’d done wrong to be treated like he didn’t matter. Ashley wanted to hold him. He wanted to shush him and tell him that everything would be okay. Ashley wanted to be there for him. But he couldn’t. Not yet.

“S’alright. It’s for the better anyways.”

Ashley stepped a little closer to him. “Why?”

Andy got up and sat down on the bed, it creaked loudly under his weight. Ashley sat next to him. The inches between them felt like a mile. Andy wouldn’t look at him, just fixed his eyes at one point on the floor.

“We were never on the best of terms, they didn’t really approve of me wanting to be in a band or my music taste or whatever. But I think what broke it all down was when I said I was gay. I... I think it hurt them, like they’d done something wrong.” He looked at Ashley then, searching his face for disgust or resentment, but he found none, just sympathy and understanding.

“There was never anything wrong. They just couldn’t accept you.”

“I moved out pretty quickly then. They made their opinion of me clear. A buddy of mine gave me a job at the local music shop, it pays like shit, but I get by.”

Andy stared at the ground a bit longer, “How long will you let me stay at your place?”

“As long as you need.” _Forever_.

Andy met his eyes, he squinted for a moment, his eyebrows drawing together. “Thanks.” Ashley could tell he didn’t believe him. Andy was so used to never getting any favors that charity didn’t exist to him. Ashley was just being nice, and he wouldn’t overstay his welcome. Andy grabbed the duffel bag and quickly made his way out the door.

* * *

 

They didn’t really talk about anything deep on the way back, just the basics of hobbies and music. Ashley’s favorite color was green. He liked the old Star Trek movies better than the new ones. Andy was paying attention, trying to invest more in what Ashley was saying. He really did want to learn more about him, but he was just thinking too much. There was a lot happening all at once and Andy wasn’t quite sure how to deal with any of it.

He was immensely grateful that they’d agreed to let Andy stay at their place, his apartment sucked, it was falling apart at the seams and Andy hated it, but he couldn’t afford to move. Hell, he could barely afford rent. He hoped Ashley didn’t judge him for it, the guys lived in one of those fancy brownstones that cost a fortune. Ashley didn’t seem to mind the apartment though and Andy was just glad he hadn’t reacted poorly to Andy telling him about why he moved out. It wasn’t something he usually spoke too much about, not that he had many friends to tell anyway. There were the other people who worked at the music store with him, but they could hardly be called friends and working long hours ate up any chance he had at a social life. He was glad to have someone to talk to now. Ashley seemed to be genuinely enjoying hanging out with him and he decided to not care if it was out of guilt or pity, he’d take what he could get. He just wanted to hang out with Ashley more.

That was another concern. His crush on Ashley wasn’t going anywhere. It only got stronger the more he learned about him. He knew he couldn’t act on it, he couldn’t risk Ashley disliking him. He didn’t want to risk telling him how he felt and Ashley being uncomfortable with him. Even if they wouldn’t be in a relationship, he still wanted to be his friend. Ashley, and all of them, had been so nice. He really hoped that they could keep being friends once Andy couldn’t stay anymore. Ashley had said he could stay as long as he needed, so he would make sure that wasn’t long enough to disrupt their lives too much.

Ashley was walking closer to him now. Andy knew there was no way that he knew what he was doing, but Andy felt that short distance between them like electricity was buzzing in the air. He wanted to close the gap, join hands or something but…

Andy stepped away, returning to the distance they’d had before. He wouldn’t let himself feel like this. It would only make the rejection harder to bear. There was a pang of disappointment in his chest. He tried to ignore how it felt like it had come from somewhere outside himself. It was like it had come from the tangible space Ashley was occupying next to him. But that was stupid. It was just him being weird and all too wishful.

He pushed his thoughts aside and kept walking. 

* * *

 

Ashley didn’t know what he would do if Andy rejected him. _Could that even happen?_ Maybe Andy _didn’t_ feel the same way about him. Maybe he felt the bond but didn’t understand it enough to care or reciprocate. He wanted Andy to stay so badly. He was worried that he’d said something wrong, Andy had been so quiet on the walk back, Sure, he had answered his questions and tried to make small talk, but his mind was somewhere else. He thought maybe he was thinking about what they’d talked about at Andy’s apartment. But then, when he’d moved just slightly closer to him, tried make the space between them just a little smaller, Andy had flinched. He _flinched._

_How did he always manage to fuck things up?_

Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe this was nothing. He kept telling himself that. He really hoped Andy wasn’t uncomfortable around him. But he knew he could wait forever, he could spend the next hundred years trying to win Andy over if it meant he could hold him one day.

He was really in over his head here.

* * *

When they finally got back to the brownstone, Jinxx and Jake were laying on the couch in the living room together, the television casting a dim blue light. Jake was sleeping on Jinxx’s shoulder, and he immediately put a finger to his lips when he saw Ashley and Andy enter, not wanting them to wake him up.

Ashley nodded and climbed the stairs as quietly as possible, assuming Andy would follow after him. He helped Andy put his things where they needed to go. He didn’t unpack too much, that worried Ashley slightly, but he reminded himself that he would be nervous about staying at someone else’s house too and that it was still his room technically, and Andy just didn’t want to intrude.

Andy sat down on the bed, looking away and clearly deep in thought. Ashley shifted his feet slightly, “I’ll, um, I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” He looked down and began to turn away, not sure if the disappointment he was feeling was Andy’s or his own.

“Ashley.”

He looked back up again, “Yeah?”

Andy swallowed, “Stay.”

Andy scooted over on the bed, leaving room for Ashley to sit next to him against the headboard, Ashley smiled and sat down, careful not to get too close. To his surprise, Andy closed the gap between them, leaning in to where their shoulders were touching. They stayed that way for a while, with Andy just leaning on him, Ashley too afraid to break the silence in case that made him move away. He’d let this moment last forever if he could, just touching him in the simplest way. He didn’t know what spurred this on or what made Andy act like this, but he didn’t care. Maybe Andy just didn’t want Ashley to leave the same way Ashley didn’t.

Andy was staring at the wall, head leaned back against the headboard, his eyes weren’t focused on anything. Ashley may have been looking at him a bit too long, but he didn’t think Andy would notice.

“Ashley?” Andy was the first to speak, still staying in the same position.

“Yeah?”

“How did you get turned?”

Ashley wasn’t prepared for that, but he wasn’t going to deny talking about it, not after Andy had been so honest with him earlier. Besides, he still wanted to tell Andy everything, the only thing stopping him was fear of scaring him away.

He sighed, trying to figure how to tell this story.

“It was the 80s, things were… different then. I was at this small concert in the basement of some college in Albuquerque, that was where l… met this guy. His name was Tristan and I, I wasn’t really out at the time and I was way too scared to talk to him, but then after the concert he came up to me. He was my first boyfriend. Even though we had to keep it all a secret, I trusted him with my life.” He paused for a second.

“We dated for about a year and I honestly thought I had a future with this guy. I was so blinded by finally dating someone I was actually attracted to that I managed to ignore all the weird things about him. I never even questioned why all our dates happened after sundown. God, I was so naive.” He leaned his head back.

“Then one night he asked me to meet him at some bar, said he had something important to ask me. I went and he kept talking about being together forever, I, I think he might have been drunk. He asked me to come outside with him, we were in this darkened alleyway. He asked if I wanted to be with him forever. I said yes and… and he attacked me. I managed to get away from him, but my neck hurt and I felt strange. A local coven took me in, explained the situation. I ran away after that, never saw him again. Never looked back.”

Andy was looking at him now, eyes full of an emotion Ashley couldn’t read. He leaned his head on Ashley’s shoulder. Ashley stiffened for a moment, the sudden contact drawing him out of his thoughts, then relaxed, letting his soulmate’s touch comfort him.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Andy said, his voice was honest.

“It was a long time ago.”

They stayed still for a while, Ashley let the sound of Andy’s breathing calm him, pushing away all the anger and guilt from the past.

Andy finally spoke again, “How’d you meet Jake and Jinxx?”

Ashley laughed a little, glad to talk about something different. “It was at some party in Hollywood in ‘98. Jake was drunk as hell but me and Jinxx made friends. I mentioned that I didn’t have a place to stay and he was quick to offer. Guess they just couldn’t get rid of me.”

Andy’s face was scrunched up. It wasn’t disgust but it wasn't really confusion either.

“What?” Ashley asked.

“I wasn’t born yet.”

Ashley’s eyebrows drew together as he inhaled. He hadn’t really thought about how young Andy was since he told them, it was strange to think about. Then again, Jinxx was about a hundred and fifty when he met Jake. That was the nature of immortality after all.

Andy started giggling, which quickly turned into full blown laughter. “What? _What_?” Ashley asked, confused as hell as to why Andy was doubling over.

“Nothing it’s just,” he had to inhale between giggles, “I just— I just thought about how you could be retired and like… playing golf in a field or something.” His smile was pretty enough for Ashley to forgive him for calling him old.

Ashley crossed his arms and pouted, which only caused Andy to laugh more.

“You’re fucking old, dude.” It was kinda hard to understand, and Ashley just couldn’t get what was so funny about that.

“I am not old.” Ashley threw a pillow at him. Andy grabbed it and threw it back. His laughter having relented slightly. Slightly.

Andy grabbed another pillow and hit him with it, Ashley used the other to shield himself. “You wanna go, old man?”

“ _Hey_!” Ashley hit him back, laughing at just how childish this was. He loved it though. He liked how much Andy was enjoying himself, he hadn’t really seen him truly happy yet and he loved every minute of it.

Andy got up on his knees and swung at him with the pillow, Ashley blocked it and threw another pillow at him, getting in a better position to protect himself. They kept hitting each other, laughing the entire time, there was a few occasions where Ashley was afraid they’d knock the lamp off the bedside table but that wasn’t going to stop him from winning.

He eventually managed to hit Andy hard enough that he fell back onto his back and for a moment he was worried he’d hurt him, but Andy only laughed and put his hands in the air. “I give up. I give up.” He was still smiling up at Ashley, who probably hadn’t enjoyed himself this much in thirty years.

Ashley fell back and layed next to Andy. They stared at the ceiling while catching their breath.

“Ha, loser.” Ashley reached over and poked him.

“Fine, I relent.” Andy looked over at him, his eyes still bright. Ashley smiled, glad that this wouldn’t be their last night like this. He could spend forever having fun with this guy and he fully intended to.

Andy rubbed at his eyes. “Tired?” Ashley asked.

“Yeah, a little bit.”

“We can go to bed if you want, I’m fine on the couch.” He really didn’t want to move, but he reminded himself that they literally had eternity to be close to each other.

Andy looked down again. “I’m— I mean it’s fine if you want to share the bed. I’ll, um, I’ll stay on this side.” He sounded nervous.

“Yeah, that’s… fine.” He tried to keep the happiness from his voice and failed.

Andy nodded and smiled briefly. Ashley got up to go to the closet and change clothes, hearing Andy do the same behind him. He hoped that maybe this meant that any awkwardness was gone. That maybe they could start some kind of relationship, he blushed at the thought. It’d been a while since he’d had a proper boyfriend, he’d forgotten what the novelty of it felt like. Plus, this was his soulmate after all, they were like, built in perfect for each other.

Andy turned to him once they were both settled on opposite sides of the queen bed. “So, are there any other pieces of vampire lore I need to know about?” He was tired, but he’d been meaning to ask that question for a while.

Ashley swallowed. “Well…”

“What? Am I gonna turn into a bat?” He hadn’t expected Ashley’s tone to be reluctant.

“We have...soulmates.”

Andy raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Well… essentially, every vampire has someone, another vampire who they’re tied to. Like a… bond between their hearts. And once they meet each other, they form a connection that can’t be broken until one of them dies. It’s sort of… empathic, like they can feel what the other feels. They’re… made for each other, basically. That’s what Jake and Jinxx are.”

Ashley scanned Andy’s face for any emotion, any insight into what the man must be thinking right now. His face was unreadable though, he just stared at the space between them. Then he smiled slightly. “That’s… romantic.” Andy’s blue eyes looked up and pierced into him, searching him the same way he had. He didn’t know what to think about that response. Didn’t know if Andy had figured out the truth yet. If he did, he didn’t say anything, just turned over to where his back was facing Ashley and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

 

Andy didn’t let himself hope that night. He was too afraid that he’d be wrong. Too afraid that he’d let himself think that the gorgeous man laying next to him was his _soulmate_. He couldn’t handle it if he turned out to be wrong.

It… felt right though. The way Ashley described it. It sounded too much like what he’d been feeling since he woke up after being turned. Like he had some connection to Ashley. Some… bond.

He closed his eyes tightly. Hoping the thought would slip away. It didn’t. Instead, he imagined what it would be like if they _were_ soulmates. If he was forever connected to the most beautiful man he’d ever met. They could stay together, share a life, an eternity. He couldn’t help but want that.

He decided not to think about it. He just leaned back against the pillow and tried to force himself to sleep.


	5. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Ashley woke up to discover that he and Andy had drifted together in their sleep. Their limbs were entangled and Andy was curled up into Ashley’s side. He smiled at how sweet the scene was and how Andy had lines on his face from the pillow. It was nice, the dim light on Andy’s face and how right it felt to wake up next to him. He knew he had to move though. He didn’t want Andy to wake up and think that he had cuddled with him on purpose. It was about 1 PM so he knew that the others were probably awake. CC had to have been at least.

He carefully removed himself from Andy, making sure not to move him too much. He stayed in the bed, facing him, trying to make the quiet last just a little while longer.

There was a knock at the door, but whoever was on the other side opened it before Ashley could say anything. CC appeared in the doorway moments later, wearing flannel pajama pants with his long hair tied back in a ponytail. Ashley quickly put a finger to his lips so he wouldn’t wake Andy.

“What’s going on?” Ashley whisper-shouted.

“I just came to meet the missus,” CC whispered back, leaning on the frame, “Figured you guys would be up by now.”

“He’s not up yet—“

“I can see that.”

“And don’t scare him off, okay?”

CC squinted at him, “Have you not told him yet? Thought you guys went on a walk or something last night, I thought you’d tell him then.”

“There just… wasn’t a good time.”

“Seriously? Wait, why are you sharing a bed then?” CC stood straight again, gesturing to the bed confusedly.

“When exactly is it a good time to tell someone that you’re their soulmate for eternity?” Ashley asked, ignoring CC’s remark.

“Probably when you find out.”

Ashley rolled his eyes, but CC did have a point. “I’ll tell him soon, okay.”

CC gave him a knowing look, “Is that wedding bells I hear?”

“Fuck off.”

Andy began to sit up on the bed beside him, still not fully awake when he caught sight of CC. He just squinted at him slightly, and then sat up completely.

“Hey, it’s Andy right?” CC asked.

“Yeah, um, you must be CC.” Andy blushed slightly, most likely noticing how he was caught sharing a bed with Ashley. He looked around, trying to get his bearings after waking up.

“Nice to meet ya’.” CC must’ve noticed Andy’s discomfort and started to leave. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

He closed the door behind him and Andy was left staring down at the blanket, cheeks still tinged pink. “Sorry about that…” he trailed off. Ashley didn’t know what exactly he was apologising for.

“You don’t need to apologise.”

Andy didn’t reply, just quickly climbed out of the bed and went to the closet, grabbing his duffel bag on the way.

 

* * *

 

 

When Andy and Ashley descended the stairs, CC was sat on one of the burgundy chairs in the living room, glancing up from his phone when they walked in.

Andy sat in one of the couches opposite him and Ashley took his place on the other end, still awkward despite everything. “So, werewolf huh?” Andy asked, genuine curiosity showing in his voice. CC was never one to turn down talking about himself and he perked up at the mention of it.

“Fuck yeah.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Ashley cut in, CC could easily rant about how awesome his species was for much longer than he cared to listen. Andy looked at him and CC just ignored the comment.

“What do you want to know?” CC asked.

“What’s true and what isn’t?”

“You ever seen Twilight?”

“Yeah.” Andy’s eyebrows drew together.

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Okay, good.”

CC leaned back on the couch, explaining details about changing unwillingly on full moons but he can also change whenever he wants. He can’t touch silver. His eyes can narrow to slits when he’s angry. Ashley just zoned out and stared at Andy, who was in turn staring intently at CC. Just when his mind started to wander, Andy looked at him and Ashley quickly looked away.

After a particularly long spiel about how painful it can be to change against your will, Andy asked him if he was immortal like they were.

“No.” CC’s eyes changed then, the easygoing joy behind them faded. “Not like you guys are.”

“Sorry.” Andy turned away and started playing with a rip in his jeans.

“I don’t know. I guess everybody wants to live forever. The idea scares me, but Jinxx has no complaints and he’s well over two hundred.” CC said, realizing what he’d said and trying to lighten the mood again.

“Forever is only worth it when you have someone to share it with,” Ashley cut in, he glanced at Andy. Andy wasn’t looking at him.

CC noticed the look but said nothing. “It’s so weird to me that you guys have automatic soulmates.”

“I’m not complaining,” Ashley replied.

Andy looked up at him the moment he said that, scanning his face for something. Maybe he was trying to figure out if Ashley had a soulmate. One that wasn’t him. He shrugged off the idea, he probably would’ve said something if he did. Maybe Ashley just wasn’t speaking from experience here. Andy stopped his train of thought in its tracks and went back to messing with the fringes of a rip in his jeans.

“You wouldn’t.” CC was about to say more when Jinxx and Jake came down the stairs, appearing in the doorway to the living room. Jinxx was wearing a suit that looked straight out of Victorian England, complete with a top hat. Jake behind him was dressed up as well, but at least he looked like he lived in the twenty-first century.

“Wow, who died?” CC asked, “Aside from you guys.”

“Funny. One of the other covens is holding a formal party tonight. Jake and I decided to attend.”

“Should I be offended that you guys didn’t invite me?” Ashley asked.

Jinxx looked at him then, his eyebrow raised. “We figured you would be…” He glanced at Andy. “Preoccupied.”

Andy kept quiet again. Ashley just hoped he didn’t think he was being a burden somehow. Ashley crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. “Whatever.”

“Well, have fun, you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” CC said.

“That’s not a long list,” Ashley replied.

“Yeah, nevermind .”

Jinxx rolled his eyes, and turned toward the door. He offered his arm to Jake, who smirked and took it, turning to wink at Ashley. “Have fun here.”

The door closed, Jake and Jinxx disappearing into the night without another word.

“I don’t really want to know what he meant by that.” CC said to the closed door.

 

* * *

 

  
The chandeliers cast a dim orange glow on the party as Mara made her way between tables. They let very little light upward, so the biblical murals on the ceiling looked down on the scene with a shadowy disdain. Her backless dress attracted glances from some of the single patrons, though her interests were not with them.

She travelled between groups almost unnoticed, most of the vampires engrossed in their discussions. Most of them were young, even the oldest appeared to be less than a hundred. Lengthened fangs being flashed to show off what little age they had. She herself was only fifty, though she had hers filed to appear younger. Most of them thought her to be harmless. It worked to her advantage, they suspected she had no motives.

She spent the night pretending to laugh and asking other coven leaders if they had heard of any newborns in the area. So far, none had. Some tried to pry into why she might be asking, but she passed it off as being lonely, that she was merely attempting to find her soulmate. She doubted by their looks that all of them believed her, but a fanged smile through blood red lips assured them of her innocence.

She walked between tables in the ballroom, weaving between men drunk on blood from the few humans they had brought along. She never liked vampires who bothered keeping humans around as anything but pets, she was practically embarrassed for them.

A couple at one of the outer edge tables caught her eye. A man with dark, uneven hair sat wearing a Victorian suit and holding a glass of what was either wine or blood in his hand. There was another man next to him, sat straight up in his lap like a trophy wife. He appeared younger, and his hand trailed from the other man’s neck to his shoulder, glancing at her passing. He regarded her briefly, and then seemingly passed her off as a trifle. She sneered.

There were other vampires sat around the pair, some with their partners similarly in their laps. She recognized them as local coven leaders, evidently showing off their wealth and mates to one another as they spoke about current affairs. The Victorian man grinned at something said, and Mara caught sight of his teeth, he appeared to be the oldest one there. Very rarely did one see a man of over two hundred around these parts, and while it was difficult to tell precisely, his fangs showed him to be well older. She clearly stared for a moment too long as the older one looked over at her. Their eyes met and she quickly walked away, her dress billowing behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

The party continued until well past midnight. Patrons quickly began to leave for risk of being caught by the sunrise. She watched from the bar as many made their goodbyes and left. Her gaze occasionally wandered back to the tables of coven leaders in the back, none of which had even moved to leave. They all had fake smiles plastered on their faces, most of them were drunk. None of them knew how pitiful they truly were.

Eventually even the most dignified of vampires stood to leave, those who were sober shook hands, the drunk ones were more formal. She was already annoyed at the notion that no one at the party had heard of any abandoned newborns around. She was beginning to wonder if the kid had burned alive. Or worse, fled. The thought of failing her one shot at redeeming herself in the eyes of her Mistress made her blood boil. She hoped the boy did burn if Mistress couldn’t have him.

She began to make her way to the door, paying no mind to whomever she quietly moved passed. No one noticed her, they rarely did. She hadn’t even realised she had been staring at her feet when she was forced to look up by bumping into someone. Her eyes met the stark blue ones of the Victorian man from earlier, his mate stood behind him. They both were looking her up and down, glaring slightly.

“Pardon me, Miss,” The Victorian man said, having found whatever he was searching for.

“The fault is mine.”

For a moment, she considered asking him about Andrew. He was one of the coven leaders after all, though she had no idea which one. Something stopped her. The look in his eye. The suspicion. She didn’t know. If he knew something about the newborn, she knew he wouldn’t tell her.

“We saw you milling about earlier. Were you looking for someone?” The trophy wife finally spoke.

They were stood between her and the exits. Even in her heels, they were both taller than she was. They looked down on her, shoulders squared like they were guarding something. Her eyes narrowed.

“No one of any consequence,” she said through a pleasant smile. She tried to move past them, but the Victorian man only stepped aside to stop her. He smiled, making sure his fangs showed.

“Perhaps we could be of assistance there, Miss…” He trailed, holding out his hand to shake, She eyed it, then decided not to make enemies. His grip was a bit too tight.

“You may call me Mara.”

“A pleasure.” He began to walk towards the stone steps of the ballroom outside, gesturing for her to follow. She glanced at his mate, who merely surveyed the scene with disinterest.

He held out his hand to escort her to the street, his other arm linked with his partners.

“You have me at a disadvantage, Sir, you know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“I’m called Jinxx, this is my husband Jake.” He released her hand to gesture to the man beside him, who was still looking at Mara like she was something unholy. To be fair, she was.

“You spoke of looking for someone?” Jinxx asked.

“I spoke of a lost cause, one you musn’t trifle yourself with.” She chose her words carefully.

“Clearly I have a penchant for trifles.” He looked her up and down. She smiled, the man knew nothing of the power she served.

Her gaze turned back to Jake who, for once, was smiling. “Clearly.”

Jinxx’s nose upturned and his glare darkened.

“Have a good evening, sir.” She turned on her heel and walked down the street, heels clicking on the pavement.

 

* * *

 

  
“I don’t like her.” Jinxx said once Mara walked off.

“How sweet that you’re offended on my behalf.” Jake teased him slightly, the woman’s jeers hadn’t affected him. She was probably just some random vampire feigning importance by coming to the gala. She didn’t look or act like she had any actual authority.

“It wasn’t just that,” Jinxx wrapped his arm around his waist and lead him down the stone sidewalk towards their car, “although that was certainly part of it.” Jinxx tightened his grip slightly and Jake smirked. “She seemed like she knew something we didn’t.”

“She knew who she was looking for.”

Jinxx glanced over at him, lowering his voice and looking around at the other people still milling on the sidewalk, making sure they were out of earshot.

“Do you believe she was looking for Andy?”

Jake knew it was a possibility. It was rare for a vampire to be changed and the news would have spread like wildfire if anyone else had found out about it. It would make sense to search for Andy at the gala if you believed anyone knew where he was. It would also make sense not to divulge your intentions with the newborn to someone of authority.

Jinxx wasn’t exactly as powerful as some of the other vampires they had eaten with. He didn’t lead one of the larger covens in town, some of them had covens with hundreds of vampires, what Jinxx had was respect. This city wasn’t a hotspot to find older vampires, who often preferred smaller towns, so Jinxx was the oldest here. People feared him because of it, vampires grow stronger with age.

“Maybe.” Jake wished he could be of more help, but he was just as much at a loss of what to do about Andy as anyone. “I think it would be wise to keep him hidden if she was.”

“I fear that he is in danger no matter what path we take. There was undoubtedly malice in his turning, and malice often has intent. If Mara was looking for him, then she needs him for some purpose. One I doubt she will easily abandon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry that this took me forever to update. I’m hoping to write more when I have free time.


	6. Doubt Truth To Be A Liar

Ashley and Andy had moved upstairs to Ashley’s room after CC had gone to bed. They were both sat on Ashley’s couch, leaning into each other as they faced the television. It was playing one of those crappy movies that only came on after midnight. It was only three AM but Andy was dozing slightly, eyes half focused on the screen and shifting his weight until he was comfortable. He was already practically in Ashley’s lap and Ashley wasn’t quite sure if he was awake enough to realise it. By the time he got comfortable, his back was almost fully against Ashley’s torso and his long legs were hanging over the edge of the loveseat.

All Ashley wanted to do was wrap his arms around Andy and pull him that much closer, and he was mad at himself that he couldn’t. He wanted to just talk to him. Tell him everything. Rip off the bandage of whether or not he liked him. He felt like a teenager about to ask out their crush, but then, there was a lot more at stake here.

Andy shifted. He leaned forward and turned around. For a second, Ashley considered backing out on everything he had been dwelling on. He could live in blissful ignorance for one more day. He could wait. He could.

But he wouldn’t.

“Andy?” His voice was hesitant.

He leaned forward further until he could twist his chest around to face Ashley. Ashley backed up against the armrest. He could at least look confident.

“Yeah?”

_How the fuck was he supposed to go about this?_

_“_ Do you remember what I told you? About soulmates?”

Andy shifted until he was sat with his legs crossed facing Ashley.  He was gorgeous, his cheekbones and his hair and the way the television light made half his face a pale blue while the other side was in shadow. He’d thank whatever gods existed for this later, at the moment all he cared about was Andy.

“Yeah, why?”

Ashley tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“We’re bonded, aren’t we?”

His heart stopped.

He searched around for words, he wanted to say something, anything. He wanted to say yes. The silence must’ve only lasted a few seconds but it was deafening. Even the television didn’t make a sound.

“Is— Is that okay?” It wasn’t exactly suave, but at least now he’d have his answer. He would finally get a yes or no and he could take the future as it came instead of fearing the moment Andy rejected him. Instead of hoping for the moment Andy said he loved him too.

Andy looked at him. His glacier blue eyes met Ashley’s brown ones and saw him, or saw something in him that Ashley couldn’t describe. His expression changed, it was small but it changed. Maybe it was a smile, but the lights in here were dim.

“Yeah,” Andy smiled unmistakably this time, “It’s okay.”

Ashley smiled too. “Okay.”

* * *

 

Andy knew it was going to happen. He knew Ashley and him were soulmates, there just wasn’t any other explanation for it.  When Ashley was feeling something, he could feel it too. He felt Ashley’s confusion whenever he apologised for something. He could just feel Ashley. He could sense his presence like a disturbance in the force. He knew he liked Ashley, he was handsome and charming and they had a lot of shared interests, but he didn’t know if he loved him. It felt like he was in love with him, but how much of that was just some magic soulmate bond that he didn’t even understand? How much of that was Andy’s genuine emotions, hell, how much of it was Ashley’s emotions?

How much did he even care?

He just stayed still on top of Ashley. It felt like they should talk about this more. He wanted to ask questions. A lot has happened to him in a very short amount of time and he hadn’t really let himself sort it out too much. He wanted to be alone but at the same time he didn’t. To be honest, he didn’t know what he wanted.  He knew everything he needed to know, objectively at least, they had answered every question he’d asked. It was just… a lot, he guessed. It bordered on too much for him to handle.

He was a vampire now, that _should_ be the major concern of his but somehow it wasn’t. Someone, the person that had changed him into a vampire was most likely still looking for him, and he didn’t really know how scared that should make him. And Ashley was his soulmate. He wanted that to mean something more than it did. He wanted to feel excited or scared or something. But he just felt… calm. Ashley was just calming. He guessed that was a good thing, maybe it was just that Ashley was calm at the moment and he could feel it too, maybe he was just too exhausted by everything, but he was calm. Maybe soon he would freak out about all this, but at the moment it just felt easy.

He could hear Ashley’s heart beat. He closed his eyes.

* * *

  


Andy was asleep. He hadn’t been paying attention to how much time had passed but eventually the sun came up and Andy’s replies to idle questions became shorter until he was squarely asleep on Ashley’s chest. They’d been talking more about small things. Hobbies and favorite books and coffee. Ashley had listened intently and practically had everything he said memorized. Eventually Andy laid his head down and got comfortable.

He pushed a stray piece of Andy’s hair off his forehead, careful not to wake him. It felt like everything had happened so fast. They had only found Andy a few days ago but it felt like weeks had passed and all Ashley had been thinking about was telling Andy they were bonded. He thought everything would change, like the moment Andy found out it would all be easier to understand. He was happier, of course, he had the biggest weight off his shoulders, but they still had no clue why Andy had been turned and left in an alley in the first place. And now he had everything to lose.

Andy moved, buried himself further into Ashley and flipped his head from facing one way to the other. Ashley leaned down and kissed the top of his head. He hadn’t known what it meant to be peaceful until now. Now when his soulmate was sleeping on his chest and wanted him back and was safe. For now, he was safe. And Ashley would fend off anything to keep that safety.

His eyelids became heavy as the television played on, he wasn’t really watching it but it was helping him stay awake. He’d been trying to wait until Jake and Jinxx got back and he was beginning to think that they had and Ashley had just missed them. He would go and check on them, but moving while Andy slept felt like a cardinal sin.

Eventually he gave up and started to settle in himself, careful not to move too much and wake Andy. He pressed his lips to Andy’s hair again and whispered, so so quietly, “I love you.”  For once, sleep came easy.


End file.
